countdown
by nina-en-wonderland
Summary: She moved faster than he could register; he had barely opened his mouth when strands of purple-streaked black hair and a small, soft figure dressed in leather were brushing against his chest as she walked past him. -Tadashi/Gogo. For Tomadashi Week 2015.
1. meet you halfway

**meet you halfway**

* * *

 **prompt:** _day 1 -"goodbye"_

* * *

 _"Goodbye,"_ she says.

It wasn't like she had been _trying_ to be rude or dismiss him. She supposed, as first impressions went, it was not exactly _ideal_ to have their first meeting start with a farewell.

He had spotted her across the courtyard, coming out from the school's main office building and lingering to the side of its front doors, for a moment, to ponder the fastest path to her next destination. With her usual blank facial expression and firm resting stance, it was just as well he thought it a chance to quickly greet her and introduce himself _("Hi, my name's Tadashi Hamada and I'm a Robotics major-")_

She had immediately seen his intentions, deciphered his friendly expression and mannerisms, as he jogged up towards her - but, unfortunately, had no time for it. She was _just_ on her way out. Living in a perpetual fast lane, she always had places to go and things to do; with her busy schedule, most things had to be arranged a few days in advance - he didn't know that of course, he was too _new._

And so she caught a glimpse of wide brown eyes, a firm jawline and a raised hand, long fingers curling into the palm as she passed.

A second peek was taken as she turned her head very briefly, tossing those words and her signature salute over her shoulder: _she had that much manners, at least_ -

Even if she did _doubt_ that they would meet each other very often.

* * *

Short online interactions had not, in any way, prepared him.

They had joined the same induction forum for an engineering class; superfluous introductions and pleasantries had been exchanged and that was all. He recognized her visage from Lab Six's roster, which had just been posted up.

She moved faster than he could register; he had barely opened his mouth when strands of purple-streaked black hair and a small, soft figure dressed in leather were brushing against his chest as she walked _past_ him.

Her short, straightforward messages _("-Gogo Tomago, studying Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering")_ were suddenly rendered in full life: she was all angles and efficient movement - with a sharp flick of her wrist and two raised fingers, she had jogged down the front steps and _disappeared._

He didn't take it personally: especially as, when she had turned, he got the impression that her lavender-shadowed eyes _softened_ ever so slightly.

And he was not surprised, a week later, when they crossed paths at one of their class's mandatory induction events.

Their eyes met and he smiled at her.

 _"Hello,"_ he says.


	2. hit the pause button

**hit the pause button**

 **prompt:** _day 2 - "memories"_

* * *

Gogo has never paid thought to the notion of making a memory -

She simply _creates_ and _lives_ in _the moment._

More often or not, she doesn't have the _time_ for nostalgia or sentimentality; chasing things down but never making the effort to _preserve_ it, has never needed to. She believes only in the adrenaline rush, the roaring in her ears and the pounding of her blood as it all catches up to her - and if the thrill of it _immortalizes_ the event or whatever in her brain, then _so be it_.

She has never wanted things to slow down and it was not so much that _right now._

* * *

They were hanging out together one day, just the two of them on a park bench and generally fooling about.

Something that she had come to notice and be familiar with (and made her stomach feel a bit _funny_ about) was the fact that when Tadashi laughed, he had this habit of raising his hand to cover it. But there was always gaps between his fingers, they would spread out and she could see the evenness of his teeth and the dimples in his cheeks -

 _and before she knew it,_ _she had lifted up her phone._

The tiny clicking shutter noise startled him, and he opened his eyes and blinked at her - and she shifted a bit, gaping a bit at herself too ( _what when why?)_

And then he _grinned,_ and he threw an arm around her and drew her closer:

"You should be in the shot too!"

She opened her mouth to say something _anything_ , but then his face was _alarmingly_ close to hers: they were cheek-to-cheek, an enormous smile spread across his face and a great deal of her shoulder, forearm and back was now pressing up against his broad chest. He had quickly taken a few as she recovered from the sudden stutter in her breath.

The _warmth_ she felt disappeared as he too withdrew to then flip over her phone and contemplate those images.

The next few shots featured her alone: pinched eyebrows, a slight frown and arms outstretched in half-hearted attempts to reclaim the object. And then it was - _"bunny ears!"_ \- him at the edge of the shot, leaning towards her with a certain gesture, and her incredulous face and a hand smooshing his face to push it back. And then it was the camera angling upwards: over his drooping arm, hunched shoulders and a slight pout, and her fingers pinching his cheek as she stuck out her tongue towards the lens in retaliation.

They dissolved into making the most hideous expressions that they could make _just for the sake of it:_ pushing back and fourth and moving around each other, and the camera constantly switching between their hands.

The last photo captured _-_

 _a truly ridiculous face, she told him as she turned her head towards him. He practically went cross-eyed as he then pushed his grimacing face right up to hers and she choked, clapping a hand over her chin and her eyes shining bright.. The camera dipped for a moment. And then they were both laughing, leaves from the trees above them falling about their shoulders and afternoon sunbeams slanting over their heads._

* * *

A week later, a copy of it was carefully tucked into her wallet.


End file.
